The present invention relates to a film-provided molded piece (i.e., a molded piece provided with a film), a method for producing the molded piece, and an apparatus for producing the molded piece.
Generally, as an example of a film-provided molded piece, an emblem is used as a vehicle component. The surface of a member is covered with a material having a coloring effect or a reflection effect so as to improve design characteristics. In order to produce this emblem, the surface of the member is plated with, for example, a decorative chrome film (see Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. H6-147069, for example).
Hexavalent chromium used for plating is a substance harmful to humans, and results in environmental pollution. Therefore, nowadays, hexavalent chromium must conform to various regulations, and is thus not used.
As a countermeasure against this, there is a method in which a film is formed on the surface of a base member by a film forming device through a vacuum deposition step or a sputtering step, with the surface of the film covered with a resinous material (see Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. H6-169191, for example).
However, according to this method, the base material that has undergone injection molding is extracted from an injection molding apparatus, and is then set in a vacuum deposition apparatus so as to be covered with a film. The base member covered with a film is then extracted from the vacuum deposition apparatus, and is then set in the injection molding apparatus so as to apply a resinous material onto the surface of the film in an injection molding manner. Therefore, this method has many steps, consumes a lot of time, and is inferior in operation efficiency. In addition, there are cases in which the film surface and the resin-covered surface are flawed, or are covered with dust, or are soiled with oil by contact with the hand of an operator with the surface during the extracting step, the setting step, and the apparatus-to-apparatus conveying step. Disadvantageously, it is impossible to produce a desired workpiece provided with a film. Inferior goods are created, thus leading to a low yield.
Therefore, a proposal has been made to produce a film-provided molded piece such that a film forming step of covering the first molded piece with a film is performed between a first injection step of molding first and second molded pieces and a second injection step of uniting the first and second molded pieces together so that a molded piece provided with a film can be formed through a series of steps. According to this proposal, it has become possible to achieve an improvement in workability, in yield, and in quality (see Wo2004/101253A1).
When the conventional film-provided molded piece is produced through the series of steps, if the film-provided molded piece is a lamp unit, and if there is a need to incorporate a bulb and terminals into the lamp unit, an incorporation part in which the bulb and the terminals are incorporated and placed is masked with a masking material in order to secure insulation properties, and a film is then formed. Thereafter, the bulb and the terminals are incorporated and placed into the incorporation part from which the masking material has been removed. However, according to this method, there is a need to prepare a masking material and to attach and remove the masking material. Therefore, disadvantageously, these operations must be performed with an automatic machine, such as a magic hand, and the apparatus is complicated.
If the film-provided molded piece is a “side winker,” that is a lamp unit, if a film-forming material is aluminum by which the reflection function is heightened, and if the bulb is umber, the umber bulb appears at the center of the reflecting surface whose color is silver white. This is different from the color of the bulb, thus causing the sense of discomfort. In addition, reflection light generated when the winker is blinked is weak, and light emitted from the front edge of the bulb is brilliantly flashed. Therefore, disadvantageously, a balance in the entire light is lost. These problems, as well as other problems are solved by the present invention. The present invention also provides for various other advantages.
According to a first exemplary aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for producing a film-provided molded piece includes a first mold having mold faces by which first and second molded pieces are formed, a second mold having mold faces by which first and second molded pieces are formed, and a film forming device used to cover the first molded piece with a film. The apparatus is structured such that the film-provided molded piece is produced through a primary injection step of forming the first and second molded pieces by structuring the first and second molds so that the first mold can be relatively moved in a direction receding from and proceeding to the second mold and in a direction along a mold surface, a film forming step of covering the first molded piece with the film, and a secondary injection step of uniting the first and second molded pieces together. The film forming step is performed between the primary injection step and the secondary injection step. The apparatus is also structured such that when members are incorporated into the first molded piece, a member incorporating step of incorporating the members into the first molded piece is performed between the primary injection step and the film forming step. The apparatus is also structured such that surfaces of the members incorporated therein are covered with a film, and masking is performed by the surfaces of the members covered therewith.
According to a second exemplary aspect of the present invention, a method for producing a film-provided molded piece includes forming first and second molded pieces by structuring with first and second molds that are structured so that the first mold can be relatively moved in a direction receding from and proceeding to the second mold and in a direction along a mold surface, covering the first molded piece with a film, and a secondary injection step of uniting the first molded piece that is covered with the film and the second molded pieces piece together. A film forming step of covering the first molded piece with a film. The film forming step being performed between the primary injection step and the secondary injection step. The first mold having mold faces by which the first and second molded pieces are formed. The second mold having mold faces by which the first and second molded pieces are formed and a film forming device used to cover the first molded piece with the film. When members are incorporated into the first molded piece, a member incorporating step of incorporating the members are incorporated into the first molded piece after the first molded piece is formed but before the first molded piece is covered with the film is performed between the primary injection step and the film forming step, and surfaces of the members incorporated therein are covered with films, and masking is performed by the surfaces of the members covered therewith.
According to a third exemplary aspect of the present invention, a film-provided molded piece is formed through a primary injection step of forming first and second molded pieces by structuring first and second molds so that the first mold can be relatively moved in a direction receding from and proceeding to the second mold and in a direction along a mold surface, a secondary injection step of uniting the first and second molded pieces together, and a film forming step of covering the first molded piece with a film. The film forming step is performed between the primary injection step and the secondary injection step. The first mold has mold faces by which the first and second molded pieces are formed. The second mold has mold faces by which the first and second molded pieces are formed and a film forming device used to cover the first molded piece with the film. In the thus structured film-provided molded piece, when members are incorporated into the first molded piece, a member incorporating step of incorporating the members into the first molded piece is performed between the primary injection step and the film forming step. Surfaces of the members incorporated therein are covered with a film, and masking is performed by the surfaces of the members covered therewith.
According to exemplary aspects of the present invention, the surface of a member incorporated in the first molded piece is covered with the same film with which the first molded piece is covered. Therefore, if the second molded piece is transparent so that the inside of the lamp unit can be seen from outside, the film of the member incorporated in the first molded piece has the same color as the film of the first molded piece, and the sense of discomfort is never caused. In addition, since masking is performed with the film, it becomes unnecessary to troublesomely perform masking by using a special masking material.
According to exemplary aspects of the present invention, the film of the top of the bulb of the lamp unit has the same color as the film of the lamp main body serving as a reflecting surface. Therefore, the sense of discomfort is not caused, and, in addition, light emitted outwardly from the top of the bulb is restrained or weakened. This makes it possible to avoid a situation in which only the top of the bulb is particularly brightened, and masking necessary for electric insulation can be achieved by the bulb. Additionally, light reflected by the film of the top of the bulb reaches the film of the lamp main body, and is reflected by this film. As a result, reflected light radiating from the lamp unit is dispersed, and hence the lamp unit can has excellent reflection efficiency.